6 Min Read
“Gather the roses and the lilies and the pinks…”
I have always been inspired by the letter of encouragement Mrs. White wrote to Mrs. Martha Bourdeau. In the letter, Mrs. White talked about “trusting fully in the precious Savior.” She continued to share a divine principle of truth about life in her response to Mrs. Martha’s struggle, saying: “I had a dream not long since. I was going through a garden, and you were by my side. You kept saying, “Look at this unsightly shrub, this deformed tree, that poor stunted rosebush. This makes me feel bad, for they seem to represent my life and the relation I stand in before God.” I thought a stately form walked just before us, and he said, “Gather the roses and the lilies and the pinks, and leave the thistles and unsightly shrubs, and bruise not the soul that Christ has in His choice keeping.” DG 145.4
The principle shared is that we are shaped by what we focus upon. The unsightly shrub or deformed tree is real. In fact, in life there are many difficult and ugly circumstances that each of us encounters. But the issue is not what we have been through or what has happened in our lives. The issue is what is our focus. The roses and the lilies and the pinks are just as real as the negative things we encounter. Mrs. White shares the counsel of the “stately form” to leave the thistles and unsightly shrubs and gather the roses and the lilies.
Referring to this letter in Steps to Jesus, p. 117, Mrs. White writes: “We should think of the good times in our lives. Have we had precious hours when our hearts were filled with joy as the Spirit of God spoke to us? When we look back over our lives, do we see many pleasant times? Are God’s promises like the sweet flowers growing beside our path? Can we let their beauty and sweetness fill our hearts with joy?
“Thorns will only wound us and make us sad. If we gather thorns and give them to other people, we are turning from God’s goodness. We are keeping people around us from walking in the path of life.
“We should not try to remember all the unpleasant things that have happened to us in the past. We should not talk of our sins and sorrow over them. We would soon be overcome and feel that we had no hope. A person without hope sees only darkness. He is shutting out the light of God from himself, and throwing a shadow across the path of others.
“We may thank God for the bright pictures He presents to us. Let us bring together God’s wonderful promises so that we may look at them often. The Son of God left His Father’s throne and covered His divine nature with human flesh. He became a man so that He could save people from the power of Satan. He won the battle with evil for us and opened heaven to show us its glory.”
I remember how shocked I was the first time I read Hebrews 12.2 where Paul writes these words about the cross and Jesus’ relationship to that experience: “Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” How could the experience of the cross be related to joy in any way? It was sometime later that I realized Jesus was using the same principle. Looking past the thistles and unsightly shrubs, he only saw us. We are the “roses and the lilies and the pinks.” So much of life is what you focus on. You usually find what you are looking for…so what are you looking for this Thanksgiving season? There are lots of thorns and unsightly shrubs around us. But I am praying that we are looking beyond that and, for the joy set before us, we are seeing the blessings God has given beyond the challenges of our lives. I pray your Thanksgiving season is filled with joy and gratitude for what God has, is, and will be doing.
Around the Conference
I was blessed to attend the Huntsville Central church recently. While I was there, the church had a special ceremony for their pathfinder club, the Huntsville Central Spacewalkers. I would like to offer congratulations to the TLT (Teen Leadership Training) members of their club and their recent “promotion”! I’ll be praying for each of you.
BMA Endowment
Just a note that the Bass Memorial Academy Endowment just hit its highest level yet of $2,250,000. Thanks so much for your support. Feel free to give using the tithe envelopes with your local church or online at www.gscsda.org/give If you would like to learn more about the endowment, please visit www.gscsda.org/gsc-today/bassendowment
Blessings,
Brian Danese